Located in the beautifully restored Georgian Town Hall in the centre of Newtownards, Ards Arts Centre delivers a jam-packed programme of visual arts exhibitions, creative classes and workshops, performances of live music, dance and drama. Included in the arts programme are the annual festivals Ards International Guitar Festival and the Puppet Festival.

Ards Arts Centre has taken a proactive role in the development of an arts programme, community outreach, and artistic development to increase the quality and accessibility of arts within the Borough.

Housing two galleries for temporary exhibitions – the Georgian Gallery and the Sunburst Gallery – Ards Arts Centre hosts a thriving diverse visual arts programme of monthly exhibitions featuring local, national and international professional artists, touring exhibitions, as well as community initiatives and art organisations.

Fans of live music can kick back, relax, and enjoy the best affordable live music in town with our ever popular Friday Night Live series featuring the best of the local music scene in the atmospheric surroundings of the Londonderry Room.

If you are after a hands-on creative experience, then enrol on one of our weekly creative classes or one-day workshops including; drawing, painting, sculptural textiles, figurative ceramics, guitar classes, patchwork, and mosaics to name just a few!